Angela Carella: Gun advocate: Sandy Hook shows it's time to arm

Published 9:57 pm, Tuesday, January 29, 2013

A moment in Monday's legislative hearing on gun control illustrates the intractability of the debate, even in Connecticut, home of Sandy Hook.

It happened while Neil Heslin, father of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was among the 20 first-graders killed with an assault rifle in their classrooms on Dec. 14, addressed the state Legislature's gun-violence task force in Hartford.

The audience included hundreds of gun-rights supporters wearing yellow buttons that read, "Another responsible gun owner." At one point during tearful testimony, holding a photo of himself with Jesse, Heslin asked why anyone has to own an assault weapon that can fire dozens of bullets in seconds.

He looked over his shoulder at the audience. There was silence. "I don't think one person can answer that," Heslin said.

Then came the replies. "The Second Amendment," someone called out. "Our rights should not be infringed," called another.

Media outlets across the country characterized it as heckling. But Richard Burgess, president of Connecticut Carry, a group that works to protect gun rights in the state, said it was not.

"I watched it from the next room. I didn't see heckling," Burgess said. "The father turned around and engaged the audience. It was a man pouring his heart out and asking for an answer. A few said, `The Second Amendment.' A reasonable mind can argue about whether that was the right thing to do, but they didn't shout."

He questions why Heslin addressed the crowd, Burgess said.

"He made it sound like our owning firearms is what gets children killed. It was very disrespectful," Burgess said. "The reason we own firearms is to protect our loved ones. It's a divisive, emotional issue, but I didn't see anger coming back from the crowd. I hope the father at some point can come to understand why other people choose this way to protect themselves."

Burgess, an electrical engineer and software developer, formed Connecticut Carry, based in North Branford, 13 months ago. The group has about 470 members and is not affiliated with the National Rifle Association, though they sometimes work together, Burgess said.

According to his website, Burgess got involved with gun rights after he said he was wrongfully arrested in 2010 for carrying an unconcealed firearm. He now has a civil rights lawsuit against the Wallingford Police Department in federal court, Burgess said.

In Connecticut, someone with a pistol permit may carry it openly or concealed. It has to be that way, Burgess said.

"You have a basic right to defend yourself," he said. "It's a natural tenet."

The work of Connecticut Carry is to "promote the right to bear arms," Burgess said. "We want to help people toward that goal by educating them about permit applications, background checks, legal questions and actions involving litigation. The concept is that anybody who wishes may be armed in whatever manner they choose."

That includes assault weapons such as the Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that 20-year-old Adam Lanza used to kill his mother in her bed and 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Each child was shot multiple times. Veronique Pozner has said her 6-year-old son, Noah, was shot 11 times, his mouth and a hand blown away.

All the more reason for citizens to arm themselves, Burgess said.

"I don't think it's difficult to understand. I carry a firearm precisely because I understand what being shot will do to me. I choose not to be a victim of that. If that time comes, I will be able to defend myself," Burgess said. "That's why we are so passionate about this issue. To say that we don't understand what that violence does is silly. This happened in a school, a gun-free zone. Nobody was armed. So how did that work?"

In written testimony, he submitted to the legislative task force for Monday's hearing, Burgess explained the lesson that should be taken from Sandy Hook.

"All of the proposed bills so far have at least one theme in common. They seek to disarm people, the exact opposite of what the Legislature should be striving for in the wake of such an obvious realization for so many that evil does indeed exist, and sometimes it preys on the most helpless and defenseless members of our society," Burgess wrote. "Bad people sometimes do bad things. And good people should always have the right to defend themselves with superior tools."

He's glad the legislative task force is examining the mental health care system and school safety, Burgess said. Other issues, such as whether teachers should be armed, must be decided by each community, he said.

"We do not advocate the arming of teachers. But teachers should not be disarmed if they choose to be armed," he said. "If the law says we trust them to be armed around their own kids, armed in public, which it does, we should trust them to be armed in school, too."

Monday's was the second of four hearings to be held by the task force, formed to create proposals that would prevent another Sandy Hook shooting. The group must submit recommendations to legislative leaders by Feb. 15.

Mass shootings are horrific but rare, and no reason to limit guns, Burgess said.

"Millions of people are carrying concealed firearms all the time" in the United States, Burgess said. "Where is all the bloodshed? Using a fringe statistic to say why we do not have the lawful right to defend ourselves is dishonest."